sugar for shock
by thelilacfield
Summary: They always say sugar is good for shock. But there is a limit to what tea with a good spoonful of sugar can make you recover from.


sugar for shock

"Alright, alright, I'm coming," Teddy grumbled, tumbling out of bed and padding down the stairs to the door. Someone was obviously leaning on the doorbell, because it rang, loud and obnoxious, even above the pounding rain.

Rose stood on the doorstep, her clothes soaking wet and her hair hanging in fiery rats-tails around her face. The rain had bought a pink flush to her cheeks and when she stepped inside he saw red rims around her eyes.

"Cup of tea?" he asked, deciding that, as he was awake, he might as well respond to the midnight callings of the biscuits.

"Teddy, I'm afraid I have some bad news," Rose whispered, her eyes filling with tears. "It's Roxanne…she…oh, Teddy, I'm so sorry."

"What happened to her? Tell me, Rose!" He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her, desperate to know what had happened.

"She had cancer," Rose whispered in a tremulous voice. "We didn't know. She thought she could fight and use spells but…but…" She burst into tears and staggered away from him, collapsing at the table. Rose Weasley sobbing was not a sight seen very often and Teddy felt his blood freeze in his veins.

"Is she alright? Can I see her? Why didn't she _tell _me?"

Rose turned to him, tears still streaking her cheeks, but the dead look in her dry eyes frightened him the most. She gazed down at the scratched wood of the table, dragging her nails along the marks. Silence settled over the small room, a terrible silence laden with secrets and hopes and truths.

"She's dead."

With that, walls he'd built up with the strength Roxanne's love gave him tumbled down and became nothing but dust and memories of happier times. He could see their future, the little house by the stream, the white picket fence, the emerald green lawn, the bounding dog and the three children, he could see all of it disappearing, becoming the stupid dreams of a man rolling as tumbleweed through a desert of grief.

"D-dead?" His voice was high, trembling, not like his at all. Every inch of him froze and every nerve and muscle joined in a terrible cry of despair as milliseconds past and Rose did not take back her words, tell him it was a sick joke.

"I'm so-sorry, Teddy," Rose said, with a stammer that wasn't at all like her. She closed her eyes with a shuddering breath and tears leaked from under closed lids down her cheeks. "Come on, I'll take you back to the Burrow to be with the rest of us." She grabbed hold of his arm and pulled him outside, clutching him as she Disapparated.

They arrived in the pouring rain just outside the Burrow and the front door opened and shut. Dominique appeared out of the curtains of rain, clutching an umbrella over her head and holding on out to Rose, her face stained by tears.

"Come inside, Teddy," she said gently. With Dominique supporting him and Rose holding an umbrella over his head, Teddy barely made it inside before he collapsed in the hallway with a cry of despair, curled up with his head on his knees.

"Oh, there you are, Rose, dear," Mrs Weasley said, rushing out of the kitchen. Her face was very pale and her eyes rimmed by red, but she seemed to be mostly in control. "Take Teddy into the living room with everyone else. I'm making sweet tea for you all, we've had a terrible shock." Rose nodded and, staggering under his dead weight, slung Teddy's arm around her shoulders and manoeuvred him into the living room.

"Oh, _Teddy_!" Lily whispered as he collapsed at her feet, staring dumbly at the blank television screen, tears streaming down his cheeks.

Most everyone was in tears, had just stopped crying or was about the start. Boxes of tissues were scattered throughout the room and had been considerably diminished. Roxanne's parents and Fred were seated in a group, Angelina crying, George futilely trying to comfort her while tears clouded his own eyes and Fred staring into space, no tears in his eyes.

The funeral happened a month later. Sombre in black and grey, the family filed into their pews, tears streaking pale faces and arms around each other. Teddy found himself sandwiched between Lily and Hugo, both of whom held back their own tears and took care of him.

As he watched the coffin lowering into a freshly-dug grave he thought he felt a gentle touch on the back of his neck and heard a voice whispering.

_I didn't mean to die. I love you. Don't forget me, I'm always yours._

Roxanne was gone, but that didn't mean he couldn't still reminisce and love her. He turned away from the gravestone with his heart feeling rather lighter. Grief would not destroy him when he could spend his days loving Roxanne.

* * *

><p>My entry for <strong>ToxicRainfall<strong>'s **The 'Tragic Romance' Challenge**. My people were** Teddy Lupin **and **Roxanne Weasley**, with the prompts **future **and **reminisce**.

Please don't favourite without reviewing, thank you :)


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